Latest

Summary: What did Putin have to say?

Vladimir Putin admitted to deploying Russian military specialists to eastern Ukraine on Thursday, dropping nearly two years of denials that Russian servicemen were involved in the conflict there, writes Roland Oliphant in Moscow.

Speaking at an annual televised press conference, Mr Putin denied that “regular forces” were involved in the conflict, but conceded that “people dealing with tasks…in the military sphere,” had been involved in the conflict.

“We never said that there weren’t people there dealing with certain tasks, including in the military sphere,” he said, when challenged by a Ukrainian journalist about two captured Russian officers currently held in Ukraine.

“But that doesn’t mean there are regular Russian forces there. Feel the difference,” he added.

There was no opportunity for a follow up question to clarify exactly how many such people are in eastern Ukraine or which “tasks in the military sphere” they were fulfilling.

Mr Putin has previously denied any military role in Ukraine whatsoever. In televised remarks in April, he said: “I will say this clearly. There are no Russian troops in Ukraine.”

At a press conference last year he insisted that any Russians involved in the war there were simply “volunteers".

Mr Putin made the admission when answering a question about Captain Yevgenny Yerofeyev and Sergeant Alexander Alexandrov, who have identified themselves as serving members of Russia’s GRU special forces and were taken prisoner in eastern Ukraine in May.

Russian officials at the time claimed the pair were former, not serving, soldiers who ended up in Ukraine as volunteers.

Mr Putin made no effort to disown the pair on Thursday, instead calling on a “calm discussion” with the Ukrainian authorities about an “equal” prisoner exchange.

Mr Putin’s comments echoed his admission earlier this year that Russian forces had served in the annexation of Crimea.

Initially Mr Putin and his top officials insisted that the uniformed men who seized control of Crimea in March 2014 were “local self defence forces.”

Mr Putin was unusually conciliatory about the United States, praising an American initiative to get a security council resolution aimed at ending the war in Syria and saying Russia “is ready and wants to improve the relationship".

“The recent visit by the secretary of state showed, I think, that the American side is ready to move towards mutual resolution of those problems that can only be resolved mutually. That is already in principle a healthy position. We strongly support it,” he said.

For a man who has previously bitterly described the US as a nation hell-bent on world domination, that is remarkably mild language.

While Mr Putin remains at logger heads with Barack Obama over Ukraine, Nato expansion in Europe, and the fate of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, alarm at the rise of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has prompted a limited thaw in relations.

Syria

Most significantly, Mr Putin publicly endorsed an American plan to resolve the conflict in Syria, and made a point of crediting Mr Obama for the idea.

"We support the United States’ initiative, including on preparing a Security Council resolution on Syria, and in particular the draft that the secretary of state brought here,” he said, referring to John Kerry’s visit to Moscow on Tuesday.

“I think after becoming acquainted with the details it will also suit the Syrian leadership,” he added.

“The sequence must be: joint work to draft a constitution, a mechanism for future elections including transparency measures that everyone will trust,” he said of the peace plan.

He reiterated Russian opposition to the idea of getting rid of Assad as a condition of peace, however.

Turkey

Mr Putin reserved his bitterest barbs for Turkey and Recep Tayyip Erodgan, who he accused of presiding over a process of Islamisation that would have Turkish republic founder “Ataturk turning in his grave".

"Did someone in the Turkish leadership decide to lick the Americans in a particular place?” He mused. “I’m not sure they did it right, or even that the Americans would have wanted it.”

“Did they think we’d flee from there, or something? Russia is not that country! We increased our presence, we increased the size of our air contingent,” he said.

Intriguingly, he claimed Turkey’s shoot down incident was especially bitter because Russia had offered Turkey special assistance on issues that he did not wish to make public.

“I won’t say what - that’s not my style - but believe me, our Turkish colleagues asked for help on a number of very sensitive topics,” he said. “And we said ‘yes, we understand you, and are willing to help,” he said.

Economy, stupid

On the domestic front, economics dominated, with Mr Putin acknowledging the blow inflicted by falling oil prices, but insisting that recovery is in sight - and listing a string of statistics to prove it.

“At the end of 2014 we had to re-run our calculations [for the budget] because oil prices had halved from $100 to $50. But $50 was too optimistic. Now it’s what, $38?” he added.

Russia is going through its longest economic downturn since Mr Putin came to power 15 years ago, forcing the government to take a series of potentially unpopular austerity measures in order to balance the books.

By defending controversial new road charges for long distance lorry drivers and fudging a question about the especially sensitive topic of raising the pension age, Mr Putin seemed to signal that the Kremlin is bracing itself to weather the inevitable storm of public disaffection rather than back off such measures.

Corruption

The only moment Mr Putin seemed unsure of himself was when he was asked about corruption allegations against Yuri Chaika, Russia’s chief prosecutor and a long-serving member of the ruling elite’s inner circle.

Stumbling over the beginning of his response, and appearing to momentarily forget himself, he launched into a garbled Soviet joke about a fur coat before concluding that “we have to react to this.”

“Everything must be looked at very closely,” he said, in an apparent promise of an investigation.

Only time will tell whether the promised investigation leads to anyone being punished, however.

Sport

Mr Putin seemed more assured when defending Sepp Blatter, saying the the controversial Fifa president should be “offered a Nobel prize” for his services to international football, rather than accused of corruption.

Accusations of graft levelled at Mr Blatter and Fifa are sensitive for the Kremlin because some people have suggested graft may have had something to do with Russia’s winning bid to host the 2018 World Cup. Mr Putin insisted on Thursday that “Russia won its bid in an honest fight".

Turning to the ban on Russian athletes competing in international track and field competitions following damning findings of “state sponsored” doping, he promised the practice would be rooted out.

When a reporter asked a fawning question about Mr Putin’s own “fine sporting shape,” he interjected “without doping”.

Donald Trump

In keeping with an unofficial tradition, Mr Putin left one of his juiciest comments until after the press conference was over, when several journalists button-holed him as he left the hall.

"He is a very outstanding man, unquestionably talented," Mr Putin said when asked about Donald Trump, the controversial billionaire and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, who has expressed admiration for Mr Putin.

He did not, however, say whether he would hand over Edward Snowden to the United States if Mr Trump became president, as the latter has claimed.

"It's not up to us to judge his virtue, that is up to US voters, but he is an absolute leader of the presidential race," he added.

Verdict?

So, what happened in those three hours? Here's Roland Oliphant's take:

A fairly unremarkable performance from Vladimir Putin this year, with all the traditional ingredients - a string of economic statistics, a salty bard about Russia’s current bete noir (this year it’s Turkey), and a handful of signals about the diplomatic and domestic state of play - including inside the Kremlin.

The most significant single line has to be Mr Putin’s admission that there were military specialists in Ukraine.

“We never said that there weren’t people dealing with certain tasks, including in the military sphere,” he said, when challenged by a Ukrainian journalist about two captured Russian officers currently held in Ukraine. “That doesn’t mean there are regular Russian forces there.”

Actually Mr Putin has repeatedly denied any military role in Ukraine, and the fact he did not disown the prisoners named by the journalists amounts to finally dropping a pretence that has long been implausible. It won’t make much difference on the ground in east Ukraine, but it is in its way a significant moment.

Interestingly, Mr Putin was unusually conciliatory about the United States, praising an American initiative to get a Security Council resolution aimed at ending the war in Syria and saying Russian “is ready and wants to improve the relationship.”

For a man who has previously bitterly described the US as a country bent on world domination, that signals quite a thaw. He seems keen to build on work ending the war in

Instead, the barbs were reserved for Turkey and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he accused of presiding over a process of Islamisation that would have modern Turkish Republic founder “Ataturk turning in his grave".

The saltiest line? Asked if a “third country” might have been involved in the shoot down of a Russian bomber in Syria, he wondered aloud whether “someone in the Turkish leadership decided to lick the Americans in a particular place". He suggested, however, that the Americans weren't looking for such flattery.

On the domestic front, economics dominated, with Mr Putin acknowledging the blow inflicted by falling oil prices, but insisting that recovery is in sight - and listing a string of statistics to prove it. He also defended controversial new road charges, and fudged a question about raising the pension age - signalling that the Kremlin is readying to implement that some less than popular austerity measures.

Next, his slightly stumbling response to a question about Yuri Chaika, the chief prosecutor whose son has been linked to a string of corrupt businesses and indirectly to a notorious organised crime group. Mr Putin’s response amounted to “we’ll look into it,” could be taken as a a brush off, or Mr Chaika’s career is in ruins.

Alexey Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner who levelled the accusations, has said Mr Putin clearly felt uncomfortable defending the prosecutor. Taken with Mr Putin’s refusal to rubbish the accusations, it could indeed mean Mr Chaika’s days in office are numbered.

Finally, of course, he called Donald Trump “talented” and welcomed the presidential contender’s proposals to improve relations with Russia. “How couldn’t we welcome that?” he asked rhetorically. An endorsement? Not quite.

What do Putin's Turkey comments mean?

Dr Liam McCarthy-Cotter, an international relations and security studies expert from Nottingham Trent University, argues this is partly just tough rhetoric on Turkey from Putin.

He says: “Putin's remarks cover a multitude of issues that could raise alarm. The rhetorical sabre rattling against Turkey is remarkable in its strength and crassness, however it is not necessarily the call to arms that many will have us believe.

"The escalating hostilities between the two governments is something we need to keep an eye on, but Putin's speech also told us that Turkey was not his real concern.

“As Putin stated Russian 'GDP is falling, inflation is 12.3%, incomes, investment are falling too', and whilst he claimed these were scheduled to improve, the rhetorical posturing against Turkey are a distraction from these real concerns for Russia and its people.”

Putin says welcomes Trump's calls for deeper ties with Russia

Putin has just welcomed comments by US presidential candidate Donald Trump that he wanted deeper relations with Russia.

"He is a very flamboyant man, very talented, no doubt about that... He is an absolute leader of the presidential race, as we see it today. He says that he wants to move to another level of relations, to a deeper level of relations with Russia. How can we not welcome that? Of course we welcome it," Putin told reporters.

Boris Nemtsov

On the murder of Boris Nemtsov, the Russian opposition leader and bitter critic of Vladimir Putin gunned down near the Kremlin in February, writes Roland Oliphant.

"I knew him personally. I chose a path of political battle, and he was not alone...and I believe that is a crime that must be investigated to punishment."

"You said someone in Chechnya might have done it, someone abroad might have. I have never discussed this question with the leadership of Chechnya and won't. It should be done by investigators."

"In relation to other such cases concerning those in opposition to the government. All such cases must be investigated, and only that way do we have a strong political culture in this country."

Some of the chief suspects in the murder are former officers in the Chechen interior ministry - essentially loyal followers of Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov, who has in turn publicly defended them.

The case has raised concerns in Moscow that Mr Kadyrov is "off the leash" and that not even Mr Putin can properly control him. The Moscow rumour mill has it that there are growing tensions between the increasingly assertive and autonomous Mr Kadyrov and the federal-level security services.

A question about the murder of Boris Nemtsov. Basically: was it Kadyrov?

Gas supplies

A journalist from the pro-Kremlin NTV channel asks about Ukraine's suspension of supplies to Crimea and potential disruption of transit to Europe, the end of the TurkStream pipeline under the Black Sea, and the future of Nord Stream, a sub-Baltic Sea pipeline to Germany.

On Turkey, Putin says: "It doesn't depend on us. We need the European Commission to give a written guarantee that all those routes via Turkey and Europe won't just be supported but granted priority. We haven;t seen that."

On Ukrainian transit, he says: "Nord Stream and the future Nord Stream 2 were motivated by the demand for reliability. If we can work with them [the Ukrainians] we will. If not we'll look at alternatives."

When can Russia tourists return to Egypt? Putin won't say

This from our Moscow correspondent Roland Oliphant:

Mr Putin has refused to say when Russian tourists might be able to return to Egypt. Readers will remember that flights to the country were suspended after the bombing of a tourist flight between Sharm el-Sheikh and St Petersburg in October.

"The decision to limit flights to Turkey - sorry I mean Egypt - are not connected with the Egyptian leadership, it is simply a question of the safety of our citizens. Unfortunately, security organs are not able to effectively fight the terrorism that threatens both us and you."

"The president of Egypt has shown great personal courage in fighting that threat but it will take time before we see success. |

"That means today at every control point from the landing to take off of an aircraft there should be Russian representatives."

He went on to clarify that he was not blaming Egypt. "We're not saying this is Egypt's fault, it is our common problem and this is our common response."

He brushed off a question about whether a new Saudi-led alliance in the Middle East could have an "anti Russian, Islamist" character.

"We don't think that alliance will have an anti-Russian character. Turkey conducted an enemy act against our aviation but it would still be wrong to call Turkey and enemy country."

"Egypt, as well as Turkey and other countries are in that alliance and the creator of that alliance, Saudi Arabia, has taken a very different approach to Syria, but we also have a common approach to some things. We're looking at military technical cooperation, multi-billion dollar cooperation by the way."

He adds: "We should be united on Syria".

The Russian president goes on to question why such a Sunni Muslim alliance in the region was created without the US, making assumptions about a possible disagreement.

"If the US already created an alliance which it leads, including Saudi, what went wrong? Why did Saudi need a new alliance without the US? Do they have some kind of disagreement?"

"Maybe it's a disagreement, because there are regional interests of regional powers, and then there's the universal interest in fighting terrorism, and they are quite separate things."

"We should all unite in the fight against terrorist groups no matter what they are called. I still hope this alliance will join this fight and help with effective measures against this threat."

Like clockwork, the gas question comes up

A journalist from the pro-Kremlin NTV channel asks about Ukraine's suspension of supplies to Crimea and potential disruption of transit to Europe, the end of the TurkStream pipeline under the Black Sea, and the future of Nord Stream, a sub-Baltic Sea pipeline to Germany.

On Turkey, he said: "It doesn't depend on us. We need the European Commission to give a written guarantee that all those routes via Turkey and Europe won't just be supported but granted priority. We haven't seen that."

On Ukrainian transit: "Nord Stream and the future Nord Stream 2 were motivated by the demand for reliability. If we can work with them [the Ukrainians] we will. If not, we'll look at alternatives."

He's referencing not infrequent winter "gas wars" which have previously seen Russia suspend gas deliveries to Ukraine, and Ukraine tap transit flows intended for Europe instead. You wouldn't really expect any other answer.

Putin's daughters

Vladimir Putin refuses to answer a question about his daughters' whereabouts and careers.

"I've never talked about my daughters for a host of reasons, including security concerns. And in so far as a person has a right to a private life, I won't do so now. They are getting on with their lives."

On the construction of Russia's new Cosmodrome Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far east, a replacement for the Soviet-built Baikonur facility in Kazakhstan from which Tim Peake blasted into space on Tuesday.

"It's nearly ready. But some experts say no, the Americans found Cape Canaveral faces problems from the weather because it's near the sea, when you're next to the ocean the weather is very changeable.

"Nonetheless, I hope the deadlines we set will be met - in the first quarter of next year there will be the first launch. But we don't really need deadlines - the main thing is that everything is done properly and to a high quality."

Now onto pensions

Mr Putin asks to be asked about pensions. He knows his core vote, writes Roland Oliphant. Russia's ageing population is massively dependent on the state pension - a not by any means generous, but utterly crucial, supplement for millions. Its constant erosion by inflation is an extremely sensitive topic.

With oil prices low, it's also a strain no the budget, and there's increasing pressure from economists to raise the pension age.

Blatter is an inspiring man

According to Mr Putin, Sepp Blatter is an inspiring man who "has done a great deal for world football". To many people's surprise, the controversial FIFA president has done so much for world cooperation that "he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize", so says Mr Putin.

He goes on to address the doping scandal which saw Russian athletes banned from track and field events earlier this year:

"We're against doping, above all because it is bad for human health. And those involved with doping should be punished," he says.

There follows a somewhat fawning question that begins with a preamble about his own "fine physical condition", "without doping" he interjects, to a titter from the audience.

Mr Putin underlines that Russia won its bid to host the 2018 World Cup "in an honest fight."

Mikhaeil Saakshvili

Putin on ex-Georgian president Mikhaeil Saakshvili, invited to Ukraine by president Petro Poroshenko to govern the port city of Odessa: "He was in America not long before that. I guess they sent him there" to "put Ukraine under external management."

Parking

Mr Putin vigorously defends the introduction of paid parking in Moscow - a measure that has had an impact on the cities dreadful traffic jams, but has caused massive discontent amongst drivers.

Even more sensitive is the new Platon road toll system, which charges lorries over 12 tons a 3-ruble-per-kilometre fee for using Federal Highways. Russias's overwhelmingly self-employed truckers have come out in revolt at this measure.

He insists that all funds raised "will go into the roads budget" for spending on repairing and building new highways and says public oversight can make sure that happens.

Many truckers say they pay enough in petrol and road tax already, and that there would be no need for a new fee if the current budget wasn't already embezzled. A particular sore point is that Arkady Rotenberg's son is a co-owner of the company that got the concessions to run the system.

Nonetheless, he's sticking by the policy. "You asked me earlier if I'm satisfied with the work of the government. Obviously this is a case were some more work needs to be done. But what is to be done?"

Now we're talking about free parking and how it's apparently a bad thing, even as economy suffers/people get poorer. #Putinpresser

Corruption

Mr Putin turns to corruption scandals engulfing his inner circle, particularly chief prosecutor Yuri Chaika, whose son is accused of massive corruption and links with a notorious organised crime group, and Putin's close brief and billionaire Arkady Rotenberg, whose son stands to benefit from a controversial new road toll for heavy lorries (and which has sparked a massive protest by long-distance lorry drivers).

He has previously avoided publicly commenting on either of these, notes our Moscow reporter Roland Oliphant.

Responding to the accusations against Chaika, he says the government "is obliged to respond" and will examine accusations in the media. A mercurial answer that could mean Chaika is secure or that his days are numbered. Kremlinologists will impose the most appropriate meaning on it in hindsight.

Putin on Ukraine

After holding forth on Turkey, Putin requests a question on Ukraine, and gets a sharp one from a Ukrainian journalist, writes Roland Oliphant.

"As far as your denial that there are Russian troops in Donbass is concerned, I'd like to pass on a big hello from two Russian officers captured there. Will you exchange them."

Mr Putin says that a prisoner exchange has to be "equal," and hits out at Kiev for requesting a PoW exchange when considering "those in prisons in Kiev to be criminals who must stand trial."

This is, of course, exactly what Kiev accuses Moscow of doing: Nadia Savchenko, a Ukrainian army officer fighting with a pro-Kiev militia who was captured in battle in east Ukraine, is facing criminal trial for murder in Russia.

He also says "I never said there weren't people carrying out certain tasks of a military nature." A flat out lie. He and his top officials have denied the presence of troops in Ukraine dozens, if not hundreds, of times. That denial was in turn a transparent lie, too.

Ukraine

We've now moved on to Ukraine. Putin suggests Russia has intelligence services in Ukraine. "We've never said that there are no people who are engaged in dealing with military issues. But these are not regular troops."

Ukrainian journo: "hello from two captured Russian officers you say were never there. Will you exchange them for Savchenko, etc?"

Thaw between US and Russia?

On Assad: "Our position has not changed. We believe only the Syrian people should decide who should governmen them and in what conditions. As such we support the initiative of the United States at the UN to resolve the crisis in the country.

"I repeat, this is an initiative of the United States. And that shows that America and Europe at the highest levels are concerned about what's happening in the middle east, Syria, and Yemen."

That's a sign of a thaw between Moscow and Washington, and also a slight "I told you so" - the implication is the West recognises that Russia's warning against regime change in the middle east were right.

Putin blasts Turkey's 'Islamist' government

Our Moscow correspondent Roland Oliphant reports: A journalist from Tatarstan, the oil rich muslim-majority republic in central Russia, asks about economic links with Turkey. The republic, one of Russia's most economically successful, has rapidly developed links with Turkey over the years and faces serious impacts from Russia's retaliation for the shooting down of a Turkish plane.

A Turkish journalist follows up, arguing that the current collapse of relations helps no one. Points out that there are two anti-Isil coalitions.

Putin responds: "it's an enemy act. They shot down our plane and killed our servicemen. Even if they're telling the truth when they say they didn't know whose plane it was, what should you do in that situation? Grab the phone and explain what happened. Instead they called Brussels (i.e. Nato)."

He also says the Turks didn't bother to explain in advance what Turkish interests were.

He says that if the idea was to push Russia out of the region it failed, because Moscow has actually increased the size of its air contingent in Syria and deployed anti aircraft weapons.

"I'm not saying its good or bad, but I think the current leadership of Turkey need to show the Americans and Europeans that they're Islamising the country but that we're nice Islamists. To paraphrase Reagan, we're Islamists but we're your Islamists.

"There's a process of Islamization [going on in Turkey] that would make Ataturk turn in his grave."

Turkey situation

Putin says the Turks may have wanted to "lick" America... whatever that means. The president said: "If someone in the Turkish leadership tried to lick the Americans in a particular place, I'm not sure the Americans would need that."

Oh for God's sake. "Don't know if Turks wanted to lick the Americans in one particular spot." Applause follows. #PutinPresser

Ruble devaluation

Second question from state news agency RIA Novosti sticks with the economy and focusses on a worry at the back of many people's minds: are we facing danger of an official exchange rate different to the real exchange rate on the black market?

For reference: the ruble is currently at just over 70 to the USD, after a slide over the past week. The currency has roughly halved in value since a devaluation this time two years ago.

Putin: "I support the central bank and government policy on micro economic stability."

Putin: yes, oil prices are low and we've taken a battering, but the economy is beginning to recover. Here's a string of stats to prove it.

Economy

Our Moscow correspondent Roland Oliphant reports:

The first question, from a Kremlin pool correspondent from tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda, as expected concerns the economy. Basic thrust: last year you predicted in the worst case scenario the economic crisis would run for two years. We're still in trouble, when are we going to get out of it?

"The predctted average price on Brent used to be at $100. That was in early 2014, and on that we based all our budget, social programs, plans for development.

By the end of that year we had to adjust because it halved from 100 to 50. Now what is it? $38?"

He goes on to argue that there have been marginal signs of an upturn in recent months - a small increase in industrial output in the last quarter, and so on. He also argues that energy production and infrastructure, including port capacity and turnover at cargo ports, are all up, signalling a recovery.

Putin discusses oil prices

The first question is about the country's tough economy condition. The president admits the economy is in worse shape than he thought it would be but blames oil prices. He tells joke about changing perceptions, saying Russian economic predictions were based on $100 oil - now the price is far lower. Putin has also claimed that despite the fall in oil, Russia is seeing a stabilisation of the economy, and even small growth in GDP since September

President Putin's news conference starts with the economy: "we expected the oil price to stay at $100 now it is $38" pic.twitter.com/zL43maGTJW

Putin to begin soon

Packed hall to hear Putin

Ahead of Vladimir Putin's press conference, the hall at Moscow's World Trade Centre conference centre is packed with Russian and foreign journalists.

A rare chance to see the Russian president face to face and (if you're lucky) actually question him, the annual press conference is a crucial calendar event for both the foreign and domestic Russian press corps.

Seasoned Putin watchers won't be expecting to see him skewered by incisive questioning, however. After 15 years in public life he is accomplished at the political art of answering the question you wish you'd been asked. Most frustratingly, there is almost never time for a follow-up question, meaning there's little chance of catching him out on inconsistencies, U-turns, or plain old spin.

Russia's on going involvement in Syria; what, if anything, was agreed about the peace process during John Kerry's visit to Moscow on Tuesday; Ukraine (inevitably), and the black out of Crimea (Ukraine has restored power, but the peninsular remains vulnerable.

2) Domestic

At home, Putin has in recent weeks faced his biggest domestic challenge in years in the form of protesting lorry drivers, who are up in arms about a new road toll. He's avoided addressing the issue directly himself so far, but he may feel he has to make some reference to it today.

There's also a major corruption scandal brewing. Alexey Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner and opposition leader, recently released a damming investigation linking the family of Yuri Chaika, Russia's prosecutor general, with systematic corruption and notorious organised crime groups. Mr Putin's spokesman has this morning said that report was "ordered" - as in commissioned by one of Mr Chaika's enemies. Another issue Mr Putin himself has so far avoided getting embroiled in.

3) Economy

Over arching everything is the economy. Russia is suffering its longest economic downturn since Vladimir Putin came to power 15 years ago, thanks to falling oil prices and western sanctions. Mr Putin's state of the nation address earlier this month was largely devoted to economic recovery, signalling that it remains the central concern for the country's government.